Is Master Cleanse While Pregnant and Breastfeeding Safe?

Pregnancy is one of the most beautiful periods of a woman’s life. It brings many roles and responsibilities for the mom-to-be. One of the most crucial aspects to ensure during and after pregnancy – is the intake of dietary supplements and vitamins to meet optimal nutrition.

There are many particular diets meant for pregnancy. These are rich with excellent sources of nutrition, vitamins, proteins and minerals.

There are few others that include low caloric intake and should be avoided during pregnancy as it may be potentially harmful for the mother and baby. Master cleanse is such a kind of diet that includes drinking lemonade instead of eating food.

A pregnant woman needs to take around 300 calories extra a day for a healthy pregnancy. Master Cleanse diet lack calories as well as essential vitamins and minerals for the mom and baby.

Hence, taking the Master Cleanse diet during pregnancy is foolish and can prove to be harmful.

Detox and Cleansing During Pregnancy

It is being asked often that whether it is safe to do cleansing during pregnancy or breast feeding. Well, the answer is a big ‘NO’.

The reason is that there are many health risks involved while detoxing body during pregnancy or while nursing. Some of these risks includes:

Risk of transferring stirred up toxins to the body: Detoxification actually releases toxins that are being stored away in your cells back into the blood stream.

These toxins are loosened during detoxification and taken to the liver, where they are treated to get rid of the buffering agent and then brought over the body.

Since your blood will be passing through the placenta, and also giving nutrients to milk, the toxins will find their way to the body, which is harmful.

Risk of Dehydration: Detoxification make you feel sweat more, tend to urinate and bowel movement many times a day.

There is nothing to worry if you are under normal circumstances, but if you are pregnant, you will soon experience dehydration accompanied with the need for more fluids.

You are actually putting you and your baby in a dangerous situation is you are trying to do body cleansing or detoxification during this time.

Little Nutrition: More protein, calcium, iron and other essential nutrients are needed during your pregnancy and lactation period.

Cleansing while pregnant is not good as it will cut down one macronutrient group and will not offer all that you need for your baby in the womb or to generate good quality breast milk.

Risks of taking unsafe herbs: Cleansing may sometimes also include herbal supplements or need of fresh herbs to be included in the food protocol.

Though herbs are nature’s medicine, they are not advised during pregnancy. Many herbs should be avoided while pregnant or breast feeding, such as parsley and cilantro.

Master Cleanse After Pregnancy

Master Cleanse is a diet focused on drinking a homemade lemonade drink while skipping the intake of vitamins and minerals. This lemonade drink includes cayenne pepper, water and maple syrup. Sort of herbal tea or salt water is allowed to be taken after this if needed.

Lemon is an excellent option to remove body of waste while the cayenne pepper eliminates the body of mucus. Since you don’t eat during this diet, Maple Syrup will provide you energy.

The developers of Maple syrup diet claims that the diet will slow down the digestion system hence, complete body detox and weight loss is facilitated.

While lemonade diet is not recommended during pregnancy, if you are planning to take master cleanse after pregnancy (giving birth to a baby) for weight loss, then you can go ahead.

Since it does contains very low calories, it helps your body to lose weight. Be ensured that you wait for few weeks and talk to your health care provider before starting it post pregnancy.

Master Cleanse While Breastfeeding

Besides high calories, this diet also does not include dietary essentials, such as vitamins, minerals, carbs, fats and proteins that are daily essentials. Low intake of these can therefore make you feel sick and weak.

Studies show that detoxification or colon cleansing can affect the baby in the womb and also the milk supply if you are breast feeding.

As while master cleansing, you are taking very less calories, vitamins and minerals; it can lead to generating very less breast milk. Even when there is enough milk supply, the quality may not be as good as it should be for your baby.

Increase in the quality and quantity of nutrition is therefore recommended while avoiding master cleanse during nursing.

You should try to remove gluten rich items from diet and add more baby friendly diets and recipes. You can follow a diet rich with vitamin enriched fruits, vegetables, juices and lean proteins in order to gain a healthy weight.

Fruits and vegetables are actually rich in fiber content that not only help you maintain a healthy weight but also cleanse your body in order to keep you and your baby healthy.

To conclude, a full-blown detox or cleansing program is not good for you and your baby when you are pregnant or breast feeding.

However, you can try it after 2-3 months of delivering your baby to convert your body to a better and healthy one. That will certainly not cause any harm to you and your baby.

Keep in mind, pregnancy and breast feeding is a special and sacred time. You have lots of time to detox later, so now simply enjoy the feel of giving a new life and respect your body and its procedures.